Fish and Game Accounting Bill Signed Into Law

SACRAMENTO — Gov. George Deukmejian has signed into law a bill by Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), requiring the state Department of Fish and Game to totally revamp its accounting and collection procedures for hunting and fishing licenses.

The new law also requires annual audits of the department, which Allen contends has been grossly mismanaged for several years.

The Fish and Game Department became the Cypress Republican’s top legislative priority after a Huntington Beach sport fisherman complained that license agents were delinquent in turning over money to the state and that the commercial fish industry was getting thousands of dollars in tax breaks.

Allen, who represents an inland suburban district, said she had never given much thought to the Fish and Game Department before she got the letter from recreational fisherman Phil Ponder. The second-term legislator said she has never hunted and seldom fishes.